Apprehensive...

[Kwbyron]

JodiBB,
I'm in the same boat you are...just a little further north. This topic right here is the main reason I've been certified for 4 years, and logged all but 4 of my dives in the past 6 months or so. Keep at it, I've dove with several people off SB, and they have all been great and more then willing to share thier knowledge.
I think the scuba community is a more trustworthy environment, seeing how we have to rely on each other and each other's equipment, and even at the beginner level have a couple hundred dollars invested.
As for finishing dives early, one of my dive buddies passed on a good piece of advise about calling dives and diving w/in our comfort zone: Due to the potential risk of this sport, it's no peer-pressure. ANYONE should be able to call the dive at ANYTIME for ANY REASON; and the only discussion about it should be what went wrong and how the situation was handled without any negativity. That really helped me to feel better about my lower experience levels.
What I am running into now is feeling confident diving without the 200+'ers...planning my own dive with people at my experience level.

 

[jiml]

Hi JodiBB,
I still feel that way whenever I’ll be diving with a new group of people. Over the past year or so I’ve met and dove with several people for the first time, some brand-new, and some with a ton of experience. But, I’ve really enjoyed it all, and now I know more buddies and have more dives under my own belt. There are some really great people on this board and elsewhere, and I think if you just go out and dive with people you’ll be glad you did. Also, I think you’ll find that most of the divers out there are perfectly happy to dive with newbies.

 

[falloutx]

hey JodiBB, I have the same feeling and thoughts too. You are not alone!

I am contemplating very hard if I should travel to Malaysia, Perhentian for diving on my own too! From the response from the forum, looks like there are more pros then cons.

Hopefully all of us having the same apprehension feeling gets the push to go forth and try something new.

should I or should I not...

 

[Downeast Diving]

Just one more small thing about feeling embarrassed by your lack of experience--all of us who are regular divers (and particularly the SB regulars) are so passionate about this activity that we want to pass on that passion to new divers. This may take some patience while the new diver works through the mechanics of figuring out buoyancy and breathing, but the rewards of seeing a satisfied look on a new diver's face after a successful dive are more than worth it. Plus, many of us with 200+ dives enjoy seeing the underwater world we are so used to through fresh eyes as the new diver talks excitedly about that last dive.

Oh so true.

JodiBB, one additional note. Never, ever let the idea of cutting the other divers' dive short because of your experience stop you. As previously noted, letting your dive buddy know what your experience is up front can help avoid any issues or embarrassment later on.

Remember, most any "diver" true to the word, will truely be your dive buddy, and think nothing of it.

Dennis--

 

[ItsBruce]

I don't mind an inexperienced buddy for a local dive. If the dive must be shortened to accomodate the buddy, its no big deal. And, since I'm agreeing to dive with an inexperienced butty, Im accepting the risk of having cut the dive short. (When I go on a trip, its a different story.) I assume other divers operate on the same premise. Since experienced divers go into the dive recognizing the issues, you, as an inexperienced diver, should not let those issues deter you from diving.

One additional thought: Try to arrange to meet with a prospective buddy a day or two before the dive, just to get a feel for him or her. If the dive chemistry isn't there, find it out before you are at the dive site.

 

[TSandM]

Quero, your post reminded me of something someone wrote here as a result of ME posting about feeling bad about being a newbie and diving with experienced divers. He said, "I love to dive with new divers. As they point excitedly at the sea stars, I remember that it was once wonderful to see them." The experienced divers get something out of mentoring the new folks, too, and new divers should remember that.

 

[dsteding]

. . . all of us who are regular divers (and particularly the SB regulars) are so passionate about this activity that we want to pass on that passion to new divers. This may take some patience while the new diver works through the mechanics of figuring out buoyancy and breathing, but the rewards of seeing a satisfied look on a new diver's face after a successful dive are more than worth it. Plus, many of us with 200+ dives enjoy seeing the underwater world we are so used to through fresh eyes as the new diver talks excitedly about that last dive.

I think this attitude is a great one, and as a newer diver I appreciate it. I look forward to being able to pay back those that have taken me under their wings by passing on my passion for diving someday, and I've found this to be very rewarding in my other hobbies and in my former life as a graduate student and teaching assistant.

I'm truly thankful for those who are more experienced who gladly put up with me. Every time I dive with them, I learn a lot.

It makes this sport better for all of us, regardless of experience level.

[EDIT-I posted this, and there is one of my mentors chiming in above . . . thanks Lynne, you and Bob are a huge help].

 

[isurus]

hey JodiBB, I have the same feeling and thoughts too. You are not alone!

I am contemplating very hard if I should travel to Malaysia, Perhentian for diving on my own too! From the response from the forum, looks like there are more pros then cons.

Hopefully all of us having the same apprehension feeling gets the push to go forth and try something new.

should I or should I not...

I dived on my own in Perhentian (not solo but without a prearranged buddy) with Coral Sky Divers who looked after me very well and by the end of the week were making early morning trips to their special spots for just me on my own. top bunch!

I think a lot of new divers worry about buddying with more experienced people they don't know because they think experience means the diver will want to do a dive that may be too challenging for a newbie. Lots of experienced divers like nothing more than bimbling in 10m or less for a while looking for critters so don't let thoughts of 40m+ wreck exploration put you off unnecessarily.

 

[spectrum]

Hi JodiBB,

You are not alone, difficuly in finding buddies and oportunities to dives cuts may divers off at the pass and is a big cause of attrition from the sport. Don't let that happen to you. It sounds like you are of firm ground with you abilities. Here is something I wrote that may be helpful:
http://home.gwi.net/~spectrum/scuba_buddies.html

Pete

 

[JodiBB]

Pete....great webpage! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks everyone for all your insight...I guess I just need to "suck it up" and get wet! I know one other concern that I can't control...my husband....

He can't dive...and doesn't want to even if he could! He knows I'm passionate about it though and doesn't discourage me, but spending every weekend at the beach or on a boat isn't fair to him and I have to be mindful of that (okay...so why didn't I take up this sport when I was single??? AAck!!! ... LOL)...he also gets easily seasick (even on large cruise ships), so having him hang out on a boat wouldn't be a good idea!!!

So I guess I feel bad meeting all these people and taking what little time my husband and I have together (we work opposite schedules) to go diving....but I guess I'll have to get over that, won't I???